For Christmas, my mom got me a Ninja 3-in-1 slow cooker. This is no ordinary slow cooker, it has stove top, oven, steam and slow cooker options. Not to mention this appliance has an automatic warming function, which means I can be away for the day without something overcooking. I can set a dish for 5 hours, and then it turns to warm. This really helps me, because modern slow cookers don’t cook very slowly, and I find being gone all day doesn’t work for many recipes.

My husband’s side of the family was just in town this weekend, so I had nine people to feed. Besides my daughter’s birthday cake, I wanted to offer a dessert, but was very short on time. My solution was this quick to prepare, slow cooker rice pudding, a recipe which does not require you to pre-cook the rice. Not only does this take just a few minutes to put together, but this dessert is very economical, especially considering I only pay 32 cents a pound for rice at Costco. And, who doesn’t love a comforting, old-fashioned dessert? This dish is a crowd pleaser.

So, I’m still stuck in a wheelchair for another month, and we have many dinners being brought to our house by friends and church family. On the weekends, I have my husband to help at dinnertime, so I’ve made a few things. The easiest thing I’ve made so far, and the most delicious, has been a slow cooker French dip roast, smothered in soft, sweet onions and swimming in a savory juice. Seriously, if I can put this together balancing on one leg, you can do it even faster on two.

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